In February 1942 he became commander of the 6th Guards Rifle Division and was promoted to major general.

[1][2] Cherokmanov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for his leadership during the Battle of the Dnieper.

[4] Cherokmanov was born on 18 November 1899 in the village of Marovka in what is now the Issinsky District of Penza Oblast to a peasant family.

Cherokmanov became a shepherd working for the Rozhnovsky landowning family in the village of Solovtsova.

[4] In 1922, Cherokmanov graduated from the 112th Infantry and Command Training Course of the Volga Military District.

In April 1937, he became the assistant chief of the 2nd department of Volga Military District staff.

He studied at the Refresher Courses for Commanders (KUKSA) at the Military Academy of the General Staff from November 1938 to May 1939.

Cherokmanov led the 148th Rifle Division as part of the 21st Army at the end of June.

The division suffered such heavy losses fighting German tanks that officers fought in the trenches.

The division then retreated into the forest, where Cherokmanov attempted to capture a group of German soldiers.

At night, he reached the Krasny Krym collective farm, where he was sheltered by an elderly farmer, Nikolai Filippovich Kozlov.

Just before the beginning of Operation Zitadelle on 5 July, Cherokmanov was promoted to command the 27th Rifle Corps on 27 June.

The corps reached and quickly crossed the Dnieper between 15 and 16 October in the area of Loyew.

On 30 October, Cherokmanov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union[11] and the Order of Lenin for his leadership during the offensive.

It captured Jarosław and helped gain and hold the Sandomierz bridgehead during the offensive.

In March 1948, he graduated from higher academic courses at the Military Academy of the General Staff.